From November to March, local governments and nonprofit organizations offer additional shelter beds for men, women, and families. In addition, daytime warming centers open up across the metro area whenever there is particularly severe weather.

Or, pick up a free paper copy of the Rose City Resourceat your neighborhood library -- it's a great all-around guide to local public services and public assistance, published by Street Roots newspaper.

Here are some listings of winter shelters and warming centers by location:

Questions? Call, text, or email a librarian to get personalized help -- or ask the librarian on duty the next time you're at the library. We will do our best to find the right resource or service for you!

Attention middle and high school educators: are you looking for good, new books to use in the classroom? Watch these videos, in which librarians from the Multnomah County Library School Corps introduce recently-published titles to use in the curriculum. We've broken them down by subject for convenience in viewing. Feel free to share the videos with other educators, too! Here’s the complete list of titles from this workshop.

Perhaps you’d prefer to learn about new middle grade fiction to use with book discussion groups or literature circles? Check out our Novel-Ties videos. Each title includes discussion and extension ideas. In addition to use in book groups and classrooms, these titles are great to recommend to individual children and young teen readers. You can also find a list of the featured titles in the library catalog.

The videos are best viewed on desktop or laptop computers.

If you missed our in-person summer Gotta Read This workshop for grades K-5, the reading list is now available in the library catalog.

"How do you teach people to love each other's differences?"

by Sarah Binns

When Kim Donovan and her husband moved to Portland from the Sacramento area last year, she left the third-grade classroom where she’d been teaching since 2008. Unable to find a teaching job here, Kim didn’t let that deter her passion for education: “I said, ‘I’m going to the library, someone’s going to need my help!’” Kim was right and she is now a committed ambassador for Multnomah County Library’s Let Every Adult Read Now (LEARN) program.

LEARN is a one-on-one tutoring program for adults who want to learn to read. Volunteers have partners, learners, with whom they meet weekly. Kim delights in sessions with her partner. “I’ve gained a friend that never would have happened otherwise,” she says with a smile. In the span of their few months together, Kim’s partner has progressed from a 2nd to a 3rd-grade reading level. “It’s fun to watch her grow and see her get excited that she can read and have more confidence in daily life,” Kim says. Many of us take this confidence to participate in day-to-day activities, such as identifying ingredients on food labels, navigating the computer, and reading the mail, for granted. Building this confidence is the mission of the LEARN program. Launched in 2010, LEARN is led by Lisa Regimbal, the adult literacy coordinator, and always needs more tutors. You can apply by signing up through the Multnomah County Library website.

The thing about Kim, though, is that LEARN is just the tip of the iceberg. “I volunteer everywhere,” she laughs. “I’m a teacher, I give back.” Kim volunteers with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, the Cub Scouts, and at Philip Foster Farm, a pioneer historical site where twice a week she dresses in period costume and teaches Oregon history. “Sometimes I don’t have time to change so I go to the grocery store in my costume!” she says. It’s easy to be in awe of everything she does.

Kim also participates in Multnomah County Library’s Talk Time program, in which people meet to practice their English conversation skills. Both LEARN and Talk Time feed into Kim’s ultimate passion to teach and encourage the love of books. “How do you teach love?” she asks. “I learn so much from people’s different stories. How do you teach people to love each other’s differences?” Kim seems to be doing just that through all the work she does for the Multnomah County Library community.

Greg Frye rescued me. (See his story here and check out his list. If you are going through a personal climate change crisis, it may help. It won't hurt.

Here's what Greg has to say:

I am a former teacher, a long-time volunteer at Multnomah County Library, and recent Master of Library and Information Science graduate from the University of Washington. Part of what I enjoyed about that education was thinking about how the library profession can become more inclusive – whether we’re talking about who is in the profession, who is served by libraries, or who and what is represented in library collections. In keeping with those discussions, I have recently read authors from around the world, several of whom have challenged my perspectives, understandings, and world views. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. This is a well-crafted interweaving of two realities – one of the 1984 as many in Japan might have lived it, and a concurrent but alternate one only some people experience. Who lives in which reality? Is it possible to move from one to the other and back? Murakami presents a story that is part social commentary, part surrealism, and part thriller. A wonderful experience! (If you’d like to get a feel for his style, but don’t have time to commit to a multi-hundred page read, try Murakami’s The Strange Library – a short tale of a surreal library experience.)

Headhunters, by Jo Nesbo. Written by one of Norway’s most well-known authors, this is the fast-paced story about a professional whose work as a corporate headhunter cannot sustain both his extravagant life-style and the fledgling art gallery his wife opened. In order to bring in enough money, he has turned to art theft and forgery. Nesbo tells a wonderful tale that has twists right up to the end.

Maps by Nuruddin Farah. This novel follows Askar, a Somali boy orphaned at the moment of his birth, who was taken in and raised by an Ethiopian woman named Misra. They live in a Somali village, where Misra is an outcast because of her heritage; she is later accused of betraying the village to her native country during the war between Ethiopia and Somalia. The story reveals Askar’s struggles during the turbulent war years to find his way and his identity, while determining where his loyalty lies. Told with elegant prose, strong characters, and vivid descriptions of life in these two Africans nations, this is a beautifully written book.

Life & Death Are Wearing Me Down by Mo Yan. A humorous yet sometimes agonizing tale of several generations of family as they live through China’s Cultural Revolution. Yan’s use of the cosmic cycle of reincarnation allows one of the story’s protagonists to see how his world changes, how his family and region evolve, and ultimately to come to terms with the misfortune he experiences early in the book. An excellent novel, but be prepared to chart relationships if you really want to follow all the detail Yan offers.

And finally, two from much closer to home to help shift perspectives.

Genocide of the Mind edited by MariJo Moore. This series of essays by modern Native American authors offers great insight into the experiences of Native Americans today. It presents historical as well as current and future-looking works. What does it mean to live as the “vanquished” indigenous peoples of a country like the US or Canada? This book offers some great perspectives.

The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture—and What We Can Do About It by Kate Harding. A no-holds-barred, sometimes sassy, sometimes incredibly sarcastic, always pointed look at rape culture – what it is, how it influences people of all ages and genders, implications it has for equality (or lack thereof), and what might be changing to help us get past it. Well researched and written, a good read for anyone wanting their eyes opened and their perspectives challenged.

The public library reflects the best of the American ideal: a place where all people are welcome and safe to learn, create, express and explore in ways that better their lives.

Today, a great many people and communities are experiencing instability, discrimination and marginalization. As a nation we must address the enormous questions and challenges we face in pursuit of a more perfect union.

On behalf of every person who works at Multnomah County Library, I offer these heartfelt sentiments to the people we serve: Multnomah County Library is a safe place. You are welcome. You are valuable. We are here to serve you, regardless of how you look, what you believe, where you were born, what language you speak, who you love, your ability, your housing status or any other way that you identify.

The library has always been and will forever remain a place where people are free to live, be, think and speak their own truths. Please join us as we embrace this work with kindness, inclusion, respect and courage, even in the face of our differences.

Wendy Red Star uses a variety of media to create her art, which draws from her tribal background (Crow) to explore the intersections of Native culture and colonialist structures. Her work has been shown at the Portland Art Museum, and as far afield as Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria.

Greetings, from Wendy Red Star and Beatrice Red Star Fletcher (my nine-year old daughter). Together we make up a mother/daughter artist collaborative duo. You can see some of our artwork at the Seattle Art Museum and the Denver Art Museum this month through December. Beatrice is an avid reader with a book in her hand at all times including at art functions, birthday parties, and the dinner table. I also love reading but my focus is on specialty books including, Native crafts, sewing, historical photography books on Native Americans, individual artist monographs, and anthropological books on the Crow Nation. I use these books for inspiration, knowledge, and references for art projects.

This book gives me endless inspiration about the possibilities of pattern making. Whenever I need a break from conventional patterns I take a look at this book. In the past I have tried to make a few of the patterns out of paper. This book is challenging and engaging and a fun way to spend the afternoon.

A seamstress's dream book! With over 350 diagrams and beautifully illustrated images demonstrating techniques to resurface, reshape, restructure and reconstruct using a simple square of fabric, thread and needle. This book truly brings out my inner nerd. I love spending hours analyzing each technique and dreaming up new ideas.

The Stars We Know: Crow Indian Astronomy and Lifeways by Timothy P. McCleary

My copy of this book is marked with underscores and notes in the margins. I have reread this book countless times and still find myself learning new information with each read. I am friends with the author, who I have worked with on projects including my solo exhibition Medicine Crow & the 1880 Crow Peace Delegation at the Portland Art Museum’s Apex Gallery in 2014. The observations of Crow star knowledge are fascinating. The old Crow stories are entertaining and eerily gruesome.

This book is a great guide and resource to the art of Crow Indian beadwork from 1805 to contemporary times. The book includes several illustrations and photographic images of classic Crow designs. I use this book as a reference and a guide for my own beadwork.

This is a gorgeous book filled with rich photographs of some of the best dresses and accessories of traditional Native women’s clothing. This book includes examples of historic clothing and contemporary trends across Native America. Filled with interesting essays and information that make it a valuable read.

Nikki, the main character, has lots of awkward situations in her school life. Nikki has a lot of personality, and all of the Dork Diaries books have interesting plots filled with tons of funny moments. Also amazing illustrations.

The Thea sisters travel to different places and learn about other cultures. The books are filled with interesting mysteries that the Thea sisters have to solve. There are amazing illustrations and amazing graphs.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle uses magic to engage young children to behave. The books are filled with interesting things like her house being upside down. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is an interesting character because she owns a well-mannered pig and she loves kids.

Maker Mentor

by Donna Childs

“Makerspace,” “maker movement,” “maker mentor,” are possibly not familiar terms, but they may herald the future. Spurred by President Obama’s call to promote science, technology, engineering, and math, and hoping to encourage creating over consuming, a movement is giving rise to makerspaces such as the one now at the Rockwood Library. Called a “collaborative learning environment . . . where young people (grades 6-12) learn real-life technology and engineering skills,” Rockwood’s 1000-square-foot makerspace offers instruction, workshops, mentors, and innovative technology tools like a laser cutter and 3D printers. The goal is to enable students to become comfortable with technology, and to learn by experimenting, while honing problem solving and critical thinking skills.

The Rockwood makerspace is supported by volunteer mentors, like Seph Bain, who offer workshops and guide students, motivating them, demonstrating possibilities, and pointing out risks. Seph’s introduction to Rockwood’s makerspace was pretty amazing. He was sitting on a plane, reading a Multnomah County Library book, when the passenger next to him said she worked there, was on her way to a conference for librarians to talk about makerspaces, and hoped to start one in Portland. By the time they arrived, Seph was ready to be the first volunteer mentor. For a while, he was the only adult, tucked in a small space at Rockwood in a pilot program with a few machines. A year later he is one of 10 adult and 9 teen volunteers in a new architect-designed addition to the library. Six days a week they help 12-15 students a day learn to work with computers, printers, a laser cutter, scanner, projector, vinyl cutters, sewing machines, and soldering irons.

When not at Rockwood, Seph works as a computer programmer and builder of puzzles for escape rooms. He describes himself as part of the Maker community, hobbyists in the Ben Franklin mold who experiment with science and technology. For example, thanks to Arduino, a computer on a chip, hobbyists can get into electronics. With the advent of adult makerspaces such as ADX in SE Portland, members can have access to a wide range of equipment, classes, experts, and fellow makers.

Despite his own significant experience, Seph admits to having learned by teaching the students and experimenting with Rockwood’s equipment. He believes the most effective way to encourage kids is to start a project himself; soon someone is looking over his shoulder wanting to know how to do that. And that, according to Seph, is his mission: showing them possibilities and hoping they take it from there.

Casey Jarman is a music critic, writer and illustrator, contributing to The Believer, Willamette Week and Portland Monthly, among others. His latest work is Death: An Oral History, a collection of conversations with people on the topic of death. He will be talking about his new book at Wordstock, Nov. 5 at the Portland Art Museum and at Powells on Oct. 27 at 7:30 pm.

I wrote a book about death partly because I was sick of writing about music. That’s my background, for the most part: writing profiles of and doing interviews with musicians. I’m a nerd about songwriters and music production, but I thought I needed to write about something that shook me up a bit and challenged me. So I pitched a book of interviews about death, and I was lucky enough to have an editor go for it.

When I started the book, almost two years ago, I interviewed a retired Catholic priest in Eugene. We had a lovely conversation — it didn’t make it into the final book, but it still floats to the forefront of my mind often. When I got into my car to leave the church where we spoke, I tuned the radio to the local college radio station. The DJ was playing “Farewell Transmission” by Magnolia Electric Company. I felt a sort of buzz go through my body as Jason Molina, who himself died a pretty dismal death in 2013, sang “The real truth about it is / There ain't no end to the desert I'll cross / I've really known that all along.” And then, “I will be gone, but not forever.”

This sort of thing kept happening. The deeper I got into these intense interviews, the more I noticed themes of death and grief coming up in the music I loved. I started hearing these songs in a new light, because of the really personal discussions I was having with people. So I started keeping a list of songs that addressed death in a thoughtful way, and I started daydreaming about making a Death Mixtape that I could hand out after readings or discussions. Readings and discussions make me pretty nervous, but sharing a compilation of songs I love, that’s a joy. So here it is!

There are a lot of sappy, sentimental songs about death. There’s a time and place for those, I’m sure, but I haven’t found that time or place just yet. The songs on this list are funny or pretty or abstract. I tried to leave out songs that we’ve all heard a thousand times. Leonard Cohen doing “Hallelujah” is no less a wonder because we’ve all heard it a hundred times, but hopefully you'll find something new here.

The opening track from the Typhoon frontman’s recent solo debut, What Will Destroy You, finds its protagonist regaining consciousness in the midst of his own funeral. When he springs from his coffin, he announces, “I’m feeling so much better now, I want to thank you all for coming out — though premature, it truly means the world.” It’s a darkly funny tune, but the arrangement is deeply melancholy. Morton has spent years writing insightful songs about mortality, but this might be the first time he’s used an absurdist comic fantasy to get into it. It reminded me that many of the deepest and most moving conversations I had about death, while working on this book, also involved a lot of laughter.

A brooding gothic folk tune with a funeral dirge brass arrangement that probably should have landed on the Boardwalk Empire soundtrack at some point. This one really only has a vague narrative, but I believe it. A small-town undertaker singing “all my enemies come back to me” gets me every time.

It’s so shocking to me that Bush wrote this incredible song for a mediocre John Hughes film starring Kevin Bacon. Ostensibly about complications during childbirth, to me it reads like a song about the frantic and overwhelming pause before grief. It has these cascading moments of sheer panic and confusion — I’m reminded of discussions I had with Jana DeCristofaro about Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief refusing to proceed in an orderly fashion — but then it also has these distinct moments of clarity. It’s a wise and generous song.

Like I said, there are many sappy country songs about death. This one, though — written by Tom T Hall — seems so honest and unvarnished. It’s a small story with little details that wouldn’t matter much to anyone but the narrator. It’s not a big sentimental number about some great American — it’s about a random guitar player that just made an impression on Hall when he was a kid.

There are certain MCs who function more like journalists or ethnologists than entertainers, and Scarface is one of those. Even for him, “I Seen a Man Die” is a pretty deep dive. The third and final verse is especially striking: It’s basically Scarface coaching a young man through the process of dying, which reminded me a lot of talking with Katherine MacLean about guiding her sister to the unknown. Scarface’s version: “I hear you breathing but your heart no longer sounds strong / But you kinda scared of dying so you hold on / And you keep on blacking out because your pulse is low / Stop trying to fight the reaper just relax and let it go”

It’s unclear whether the titular “You” in this song is deceased or just out of the picture, but it’s an incredibly visceral grief that a young Randy Newman touches on here, and it certainly translates to bereavement. Plain and direct and brutally honest. “Nothing’s gonna happen / Nothing’s going to change / Baby it’s so hard living without you.” The arrangement is totally flooring, too.

Thematically identical to “Living Without You,” only this has Sade’s notoriously sexy vocals and smooth production attached. “I’m crying everyone’s tears” is one of the most open-ended and compelling lyrics I can think of, though, and the total disregard for gender conformity in the chorus is something I greatly enjoy.

I don’t know how you write a believable song from the perspective of a dying man when you’re not dying, but I think this is one. I do know that in Samson’s case, there was a lot of research about the actual Ninette Sanatorium in Manitoba. (On the same album, he also writes a song from the perspective of a graduate student who’s researching this Sanatorium, so it all gets very meta.)

I talked to Pedro co-founder David Bazan about this song, wherein a paramedic debates whether it would be best to tell a dying man that he’s dying or not, and a priest decides to reveal his own battle with depression mid-eulogy. He felt like he should have given the story another twist. But I like it just the way it is, Bazan’s bleak vocals and all. If you haven’t checked it out, Control is one of the great rock records of its era.

I won’t claim to know what Gibson, a dear friend of mine, is getting at here. To me, it sounds like a story about the whole world — even inanimate objects — coming together to mourn. And there’s something very pretty about that, beyond Gibson’s great voice and playing.

I thought this was a nice bookend to pair with “Poor Bastard.” Instead of waking up in his casket, this song’s protagonist wakes up as a museum pharaoh with a “No Flash Photography” sign hung around its neck. Songwriter/frontman Yoni Wolf’s transition from rebirth to a much less exotic death is pretty compelling, too. Something about the whimsical, baroque instrumentation here just does it for me, too.

Divorce, estate planning, landlord/tenant issues, immigration, arrests and citations... Life is full of legal questions. How do you search for answers without being taken for a ride? We can suggest some excellent resources that can help you out.

If you have questions about your rights as a renter, you might want to contact the Community Alliance of Tenants. This statewide, grassroots, tenants-rights organization provides renters' rights information online; if you can't find the information you need, call the Renters’ Rights Hotline at 503-288-0130.

Though we are always happy to help you locate resources and give you search tips, it is against state law for library staff members to engage in any conduct that might constitute the unauthorized practice of law; we may not interpret statutes, cases or regulations, perform legal research, recommend or assist in the preparation of forms, or advise patrons regarding their legal rights.

3M Cloud Library will no longer be available from Multnomah County Library as of November 1, 2016. Here's what you need to know if you are 3M Cloud Library user.

You will no longer be able to access the 3M Cloud Library app or website as of November 1. This includes checkouts, holds, suggestions for purchase and reading history. You should now place or re-place your holds on the OverDrive platform. The vast majority of the books are being moved to the OverDrive platform where you can check them out.

Beginning October 3, 2016 titles from 3M Cloud Library will only be accessible via the 3M Cloud Library App. You may continue to access 3M Cloud Library content through the app until November 1.

We're making this change because the library’s digital collection is growing in usage and in cost. We are continually evaluating the makeup of these collections and have decided to discontinue the the 3M Cloud Library service. The money the library saves can be redistributed to support digital services that are highly used. This process is projected to be complete by the first week of November.

Making a difference

by Sarah Binns

Denny Hyde is one of those people who are becoming rare in our constantly updating world: He's been on the same career path for 30 years. With most of his childhood spent in Portland, he attended H.B. Lee Middle School where he liked science and enjoyed building circuits and radios. But then the school offered an introductory computer programming course: “And I was completely hooked. I ignored everything else after that. I never went back to the radios,” he says with a smile.

While currently working full-time as a programmer for the university side of OHSU, Denny not only volunteers as a technology trainer, but also for Central Library's Tech Help program, a service he helped create. It all started when he answered an ad requesting volunteers to help with computer classes at the downtown library. As a technology trainer, he often stayed after class to answer questions about computers. These days, “You're expected to know certain things about technology,” Denny says, “but there are people who don't. How do they get started without paying lots of money for a class?” Seeing the need, Denny recommended that Central Library reboot a technology help service which he then led.

Tech Help currently takes place from 2-4 pm on Sundays at Central. Denny is always there, answering basic—and not-so-basic—questions from patrons who can walk in for help without an appointment. “We do have people who ask how to pay their phone bill and I have to tell them, 'Well, we can't do that, but go to your provider.' Or people who ask how to remove themselves from the internet, which is really a losing battle.” Mostly, Denny says, he's happy to be a Tech Helper because it makes a difference. “We need a safety net for people who have one or two questions about technology that, when answered, will make their lives simpler,” he says. He says he sees a wide range of people asking for assistance, even younger folks. “Just because you're used to technology doesn't mean you know how to use it,” he says.

Denny has a word of advice that will warm the hearts of any technophobe: “People have the same problems with tech stuff that they did 25 years ago, it's just different machines.”

A Few Facts About Denny

Most influential book: Applesoft BASIC Programmer's Reference Manual. I spent many hours with this book to teach myself computer programming in high school. It started a hobby and career that's lasted over 30 years. I still have the same book on a shelf.

Guilty pleasure: Comic books. Saga is one of my favorites.

Favorite book from childhood: Encyclopedia Brown series. I would read each story twice while looking for clues to solve the mystery.

Favorite section of the library: Science fiction and fantasy.

E-reader or paper books: E-readers for technical books since they are easy to search, update, and carry. Paper books for everything else.

Multnomah County Library offers Blu-ray Discs for check-out. You can find a complete list by searching bluray as a keyword in My MCL. You can check out a combined total of 30 DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.

About Blu-rays

You will need a Blu-ray player or a computer with a Blu-ray drive to watch a Blu-ray Disc. Some game consoles (e.g. Xbox One, PS3 and PS4) support Blu-ray discs as well. Blu-ray Discs will not play in a DVD player.

Blu-rays are a high-definition (HD) format, but you must be using HDTV or a HD monitor to watch in HD. Blu-rays can be viewed on a conventional monitor, but quality will not be high-definition.

Hands are hard to draw. So are feet, and faces! If you enjoy the challenge of drawing the human form, you might find some great images to work from in the Central Library picture file collection. Many files contain clippings focused on people, and classified by subject (according to library tradition). You’ll find specific folders for each of the following categories (among many others):

For work focused on the human form and those tricky parts to draw, you might like to look at the picture files for Hands, Feet, Facial studies, Nude studies, and Portrait studies.

If you’re trying to draw a person at a particular stage of life, you might find helpful images in the folders for Babies, Children, Adolescents, Couples, College life, Families,​ and Aged [people].

To draw a particular sort of character, you might seek inspiration in the files for Angels, Madonnas, Magicians, Gypsies, Pirates, Mermaids, and Jesters.

Is your subject a group? There are picture files for Crowds, Dancing, Demonstrations, Happenings...

As with the other images in the picture file collection, these were clipped from magazines, books, and other print materials between approximately 1920 and 2008. In addition to being a resource for images of the human form, they are also a view into how people were represented in American publications and visual media during this span of time. Browsing through them can be a candid trip through history.

The Night Circus arrives without warning. What was an empty field by day becomes transformed by night. A city of tents appears as if by magic, drawing people through the dusk to the soft-twinkling lights and the smell of warm caramel in the air. When the guests arrive, they hardly know where to go first. One tent contains a frozen world of ice and snow all in shades of white and silver, making the visitor feel as though he has been transported into his own personal snow globe. In another a mysterious woman reads the future in her cards. In another, guests climb to the top of the tent by way of a maze of soft clouds and, reaching the top, gently float back down to the ground.

Le Cirque des Reves showcases the purely fantastical next to the usual entertainments one might expect - the contortionists, the jugglers and of course, the magicians. What the guests don't realize is that the night circus exists only incidentally as a place to while away an evening: the circus is really a giant game-board. At its center are two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who are destined to compete in a battle to out-magic one another, a battle that will lead to the death of one.

Though Erin Morgenstern's book is already in high demand, it is well worth the wait. The Night Circus is a delectable treat of a novel, a fantastical, almost architectural dessert that is almost too beautiful to eat, but you won't be able to resist.

MCL Makers is a DIY series that highlights Multnomah County Library Staff who make things in their spare time. In the past we have featured soapmaking with Anne and handspinning with Donna. Our next featured MCL Maker is Library Assistant Laura Simon. When she's not using her talents at her branch to create lovely bulletin boards, flyers, and displays, Laura likes to make mixed media collages and handmade books, among other crafty things. Here she shares with us about mixed media collage.

How long have you been making mixed media collages?

I feel like I've been making collages my whole life! My mom taught me to see the creative potential of every tiny scrap, shiny bit and broken shard. She saved these things in a giant cupboard in our garage. That Craft Cupboard was my boredom buster. My sister and I could spend hours slathering glue onto old buttons, tissue paper, sequins and sticks.

How did you learn to collage?

As an adult, art wasn't really a part of my life. I realized how much I missed the process after I celebrated my 40th birthday by taking a mixed media class at Collage on Alberta. I went straight home and started my own Craft Cupboard, now an entire Craft Room, filled with all sorts of inspiring junk.

Have you used any resources from the library to further develop your craft?

Have you taught others how to collage or shared your skill in any way?

I have regular get togethers with a couple of my crafty librarian friends. For me, the process of creating while spending time with close friends is very therapeutic. I am often surprised by the artistic result.

What advice do you have for the new crafter just starting out?

Don't overthink it! Jump in, get messy, embrace the chaos.

For more information on mixed media collage and other creative exploration, check out this curated list.

Hey, everyone, I'm David F. Walker. I write graphic novels (or if you prefer, comic books —it's all the same to me). I grew up reading comics (mostly Marvel), and to this day, I still love the medium. At any given time, I have stacks of comics and graphic novels all over my home, waiting to be read and reread. I'm a sucker for a good Young Adult novel, as I also dabble in YA. I love history, so I often spend what little free time I have watching documentaries. When I am not reading or writing comic books, I'm a filmmaker, journalist, and educator. My work includes Power Manand Iron Fist, Nighthawk (Marvel), Shaft: A Complicated Man, Shaft’s Revenge (Dynamite), Cyborg (DC), Number 13 (Dark Horse Comics), and the YA novel, Super Justice Force: The Adventures of Darius Logan, Book One.

Two incredible examples of the storytelling possibilities found in the graphic novel medium, which serve as companion pieces to a larger story. I recommend reading Boxers first, but that’s not as important as reading both.

Produced back in the 1980s, this multi-part PBS documentary is the greatest jumping-off point for learning about the Civil Rights in America. In a perfect world, families of all stripes would sit and watch this together.

I love a good YA book (perhaps because I suffer from a case of arrested development). Whatever the case. The Chaos Walking series (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, Monsters of Men) is probably my favorite YA series. Ness is an incredible writer, and this series is riveting.

My absolute favorite comic book creator of all time, Eisner is best known for creating The Spirit, and some historians credit him with creating what we now know as the graphic novel. This collection of stories is the Eisner I love the most – a brilliant example of how image and text can become literature.

One of my favorite comic series currently being produced, it is a hard-hitting, hilarious, radical bit of speculative fiction that finds non-complying women sentenced to a prison on another planet. DeConnick and her creative team are dangerous in the best way possible.

Living in New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it is difficult to describe the climate of what it was like to be young and black in a city that feared you. The infamous Central Park Park Rape case explains it with unflinching humanity, examining the gross miscarriage of justice that ocurred when five black teenagers were sent to prison for a heinous crime none of them committed.

Combining two forms of expression that I absolutely love – comic books and hip hop, Piskor’s exhaustive historical narrative is a revelation. Four volumes in, this is the graphic novel done brilliantly.

I saw an ad for this YA book in, of all places, a comic book. Having read Higson’s Young Bond series, I decided to give this a shot. I can only describe this as The Walking Dead meets The Lord of the Flies – and there are five more books in the series.

One of the most over-looked graphic novels of the last several years, both volumes of Concrete Park are works on incredible art. Set on a planet billions of miles from Earth, where people of color and other minorities have been exiled, the series is as brutal as it is beautiful.

Eric Dean Seaton’s three-volume graphic novel series delivers to the superhero the diversity that is sadly lacking from so many other comics. The struggle to find true diversity in works of pop culture continues to be an uphill battle, but this series is a refreshing example of how to do it properly.

This PBS documentary is equally engrossing and heartbreaking, as it traces how slavery never really ended in the Untied States, it just became something else. This is one of those “missing” pieces of history that helps to explain the horrific inequities we see in this country, based on race and class.

On the surface, this a documentary about a forgotten proto-punk band being rediscovered after years of languishing only in the fading memories of a few people. But it is so much more. It is about family, and love, and commitment to your art, and how the key to immortality is art.

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